Tamil movies in the crime thriller genre are quite well-researched and well-planned to hook the audiences to their suspenseful plots. Not just the storyline but if the films have compelling performances by top actors, then it is like icing on the cake.
1) Yutham Sei (2011)
Cast: Cheran, Ananyaa Shah, Y.G. Mahendran
Available on: Zee5, Disney+Hotstar
Yutham Sei revolves around a complex case that has missing people, cut body parts of people, and a hidden revenge story. Senior Inspector J.K. has to battle it out with influential figures and confront key people to provide justice to the victims.
2) Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013)
Cast: Mysskin, Sri, Adithya Menon
Available on: Disney+ Hotstar
The film Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum revolves around a child who sets off on a dangerous chase while saving a dying criminal. However, in this struggle, the line between the hunted and the hunter becomes blurred.
3) Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016)
Cast: Rahman, Prakash Raghavan, Sharath Kumar
Available on: Aha, Zee5
A retired police officer has to take a glance at his past investigation as he tells the details of the case to his friend’s son after an accident.
4) Naan (2012)
Cast: Vijay Antony, Siddarth Venugopal, Rupa Manjari
Available on: Zee5
Karthik is a troubled young man who takes on the identity of a deceased passenger Mohammed Salim and starts a new life. However, in order to deceive people, he commits murders and tries to manipulate people to get Salim’s inheritance.
5) Thegidi (2014)
Cast: Ashok Selvan, Janani Iyer, V. Jayaprakash
Available on: Aha, Disney+Hotstar
A plainclothes officer gets trapped by fake agents, leading to a sequence of bloodbaths.
6) Aaranya Kaandam (2010)
Cast: Sampath Raj, Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna
Available on: Disney+Hotstar
Singaperumal may be aged, but he still feels robust. However, when he creates an excellent plan to defeat his arch-enemy Gajendran, a chain of events such as a mistress and a missing bag of cocaine creates a challenging situation.
7) Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018)
Cast: Nayanthara, Atharvaa Murali, Anurag Kashyap
Available on: Amazon Prime Video
A CBI officer hunts a serial killer, but things get worse when the murderer targets her family.
Anjali Vikramadithyan, a CBI officer hunts a serial killer who was believed to have already been arrested and in jail. However, the case becomes personal when the killer targets her own family.
8) Kurangu Bommai (2017)
Cast: Vidharth, Bharathiraja, Delna Davis
Available on: Zee5, Amazon Prime Video
Sundaram, a loyal worker, and his son Kathir, a local cab driver are forced to smuggle a valuable idol and a bag of money by Sundaram’s boss Ekambaram.
9) Thani Oruvan (2015)
Cast: Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swamy, Nayanthara
Available on: MX Player
IPS officer Mithran tries to expose a wealthy and influential scientist Siddharth Abimanyu who earns profits from illegal medical practices. Will Mithran be successful?
10) Kuttram 23 (2017)
Cast: Arun Vijay, Mahima Nambiar, Thambi Ramaiah
Available on: Disney+Hotstar
ACP Vetrimaaran investigates a series of murders that are linked to medical professionals. However, the case becomes more complex and difficult as he finds out who are involved in the corruption.
